The 32-year old Mumbai-based TV employee who was molested by a fish seller on Monday night, had made frantic calls to the much-advertised police helpline of 100 during the attack, but to no avail.

"I dialed 100 several times. The first time somebody did pick up the phone, but there was no sound after that. The phone simply went ringing in the subsequent calls," the woman who spent her childhood in Kolkata, but later migrated to Mumbai told HT on Wednesday.

It was around 11.30 pm the woman, his father and two friends headed towards a food joint near the Howrah station to pick up their dinner. When her friend Subrata Ghosh parked his car near the food joint - nearly 300 metres from the Howrah station - Ratan Kumar Sahu approached towards the car. Sahu, 36, is a local small time fish trader.

Subrata Ghosh is a resident of Belur in the same district.

Sahu staggered towards the car, leaned through the window and tried to drag the woman out. She immediately decided to rolled-up the window but Ratan resisted. The woman, who was sitting on the back seat with a friend, got out to confront the attacker.

Meanwhile, her father and Subrato came out to help. But Ratan started shoving the woman's 72-year old father and slapped Subrato. The woman took off her shoes and started hitting Ratan on the head.

"Meanwhile a group of six to seven locals came out and started supporting Ratan. Realising that the situation is out of control we decided to move into the car and flee. But they blocked the road. There were no police to help and our calls to 100 went unanswered. This is when a young man came into help and resisted Ratan and one of his friends. This helped us to make a way and we sped our car towards the police station," the woman recollected.